Comparison of swallows and swifts: similarities and differences. How to distinguish a swift from a swallow? Swallow in culture

Despite the fact that swifts and swallows are very similar in appearance, they are not even relatives: swallows belong to the order Passeriformes, and swifts belong to the order Swift-winged (or long-winged). In addition, the swallow, as a flyer, is no match for the swift! The swift is the champion among all birds in terms of flight speed (120-160 km/h), while the swallow flies much slower - at a speed of 50-60 km/h. The swift flies quickly and in a straight line, but is inferior to the swallow in flight maneuverability.

Swifts and swallows have quite a lot of characteristic external differences.

Swifts and swallows have different foot structures. The swallow, like any other bird, has three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing back. In the swift, all four toes on the foot are directed forward. You won’t be able to hold onto a branch with such a paw, but you can use it, like climbing hooks, to catch onto the slightest protrusion or crevice on a vertical surface, wooden or stone. Therefore, if you see a family of birds with a forked tail sitting on telegraph wires, you can be sure that these are not swifts, but swallows.

However, in order to see the bird’s foot, you need to get very close to it or even catch it. How to distinguish between a swift and a swallow in flight?

Swallows have a white breast, while swifts have only a white spot under the beak. Therefore, you can clearly see the dark belly of a flying swift, and the white belly of a swallow.

A swift, unlike a swallow, never folds its wings in flight.

Swifts differ from swallows in their loudness. While in flight, they squeal loudly and constantly.

The swift is larger than the swallow, its wings are narrower, but much longer and crescent-shaped. The swift's tail is wider and shorter.

Swallows are more common in rural areas, and swifts - in the city.

Did you know...

Due to the fact that you will never see a swift sitting on the ground, a false opinion has arisen that the swift does not know how to take off from the ground, and therefore never lands on it. This is not true: if for some reason a swift finds itself on the ground, it takes off from it as easily as a swallow, with the help of unusually strong flaps of its long wings. But you won’t see a swift on earth simply because it has nothing to do there. It feeds by grabbing insects from the ground in flight, catching them with its wide-open mouth. Hence another “fairy tale” about swifts: they supposedly fly with their beaks open and mechanically catch everything edible that comes their way. In reality, of course, they hunt with their mouths closed. Having seen prey, they fly up to it and only at the penultimate moment they open their beak wide (precisely “at the penultimate”, because, having flown too close to the prey, the far-sighted swift stops seeing it!).

It is always worth remembering that swallows and swifts are not related, even despite their amazing similarity in appearance. Swifts belong to the order swift-shaped, and the swallows to the squad passerines. Also, do not forget that a swift is much faster than a swallow; it can reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, while a swallow can only reach 60 km/h. However, the swallow is much more maneuverable than the swift.

Characteristic external differences between swallows and swifts enough.

Similarities and differences between swallows and swifts:

Pay attention to the structure of the paws of birds. The swift's toes will all point forward. The swallow has one toe pointing back and the other three toes pointing forward. With such a foot, swallows can very well attach themselves to telegraph wires, branches, etc.

In any case, it will be difficult to see the birds' feet, so let's take a look similarities between swallows and swifts in flight.

Swallows have a snow-white breast, and swifts have a small white spot under the beak. Consequently, in flight, the swift’s belly will be dark, while the swallow’s will be white.

Swallow in flight folds its wings but no swift.

Also, the swift is much larger than the swallow, and its tail is shorter and wider.

Most often, swallows can be found in rural areas, and swifts in urban area.

A - barn swallow

B - city swift

Looking at a bird soaring beautifully in the sky, you hardly think about what species or order it belongs to. Rather, you envy her high flight, endless freedom and opportunity to travel.

Many signs are associated with birds; they are our reliable helpers in the fight against harmful insects. They live next to us, without demanding anything, while delivering not only aesthetic pleasure, but also practical help. What are the similarities and differences between swallows and swifts?

The swallow is one of the most beloved birds of many peoples. It is with her that the beginning of spring is associated, and therefore revival, the celebration of life and love. Swallow's nests are a symbol of family hearth and home comfort.

And if the swallow is one of the first to arrive in the spring, then they say that summer will not begin without swifts. These birds are the very last to return to their homeland, bringing with them the warmth of distant Africa.

Very often, swifts and swallows are confused. From a distance they really seem similar, in size and color, but when comparing swallows and swifts we will understand that this is completely different. different birds. Moreover, they do not even belong to the same species. Swallows are representatives of the passerine order, and swifts are members of the long-winged order.

Appearance

Martin- a small agile bird, weighing 17-20 grams and a body length of no more than twenty centimeters. With such a small stature, the swallow has a wingspan of 31-45 centimeters. The color of the swallow is predominantly blue-black, with only a pale beige breast, and on the head, if you look closely, you can see a brownish “cap”. A special distinctive feature of this hardworking bird is its unusual tail, long and forked at the end. The color of the female's plumage is somewhat duller than that of the male, but in flight they are difficult to distinguish.

Dimensions swift quite comparable to the size of a swallow: the same body length, the same wingspan, but the weight of a young bird is twice the weight of a swallow. Swifts also differ in color. Despite the fact that the plumage is also dark, the ebb in in this case has a greenish tint, and there is a small white spot on the chin and throat. Birds of both sexes look exactly the same, but the shoots differ from adult swifts in that their feathers are not bright enough.

A distinctive feature of the swift is its sharp beak, with which they seem to cut the sky (hence the name “swift”).

Paws

Swallows have regular bird feet, with three toes pointing forward and one pointing back. This structure of the paws makes it easy to stay on the perch and move along the ground.

Swifts' feet are unique. They also have four fingers, but they all point forward, making it very difficult to maintain balance. This feature influenced the way swifts sleep: they hang upside down on a branch, because it is impossible to stand with such paws. Also, the forward-looking fingers of swifts make it difficult for them to take off from a support, but once they rise into the sky, you immediately forget how stupid these birds look on the ground.

Flight

The flight speed of a swallow is average for a bird and is 50-60 kilometers per hour, but the trajectory of their movement is almost impossible to predict.

The swift can be called super-fast. These small but graceful birds can accelerate up to 160 kilometers per hour. In the sky, they really have no equal, it’s not for nothing that airplanes are named after them, but on the ground, swifts look more than ridiculous. They cannot walk on their paws and literally crawl. However, this fact does not really interfere with their life, since swifts are able to soar under the clouds all day long without going down. They, like swallows, feed on the fly. In addition, scientists have recorded cases of swifts falling asleep in flight. And swifts fly very quickly, usually adhering to a straight trajectory, and often dive.

Conclusions website

1. The swallow has a light breast, while the swift has only a spot on the throat.
2. In swifts, all four fingers point in one direction, while in swallows, three fingers point forward and one back.
3. Swifts reach a flight speed of 160 km/h, and swallows only 60 km/h.
4. Swifts have a sharper beak, and swallows have a more dissected tail.
5. Swifts are the last to arrive after wintering, and swallows are the harbingers of spring.

Today my daughter and I completed a task on “The world around us” in the workbook (task No. 4, p. 29).

Children are invited to find information about swallows and swifts in the atlas-identifier “From Earth to Sky” by the author A. A. Pleshakov (this book is in “Ozone”, in “Labyrinth”), find out and write down how they are similar and how they differ.

Similarities between swallows and swifts

Apart from the signature “masters of the sky” and the fact that the drawing of a swift is located next to the drawings of three types of swallows (city, village and shore swallow), there is nothing about the similarity of swallows and swifts in the identification atlas.

What can be written in lines about similarities:

• similar in size and structure (shape of head, wings, body),
• forked tail
• similar lifestyle - they spend a lot of time flying,
• insectivores, get food in the same way (catch in the air),
• migratory.

Differences between swallows and swifts

There is more information about the differences in the identification atlas in the last two paragraphs on page 179.

What can you write down in the lines about the differences (how many will fit or choose your favorite differences):

• Swallows have a white breast, while swifts have only a whitish spot on the throat.
• Swifts have longer, crescent-shaped wings, which they never fold in flight.
• Swifts scream loudly in flight and fly much faster than swallows.
• Swallows have the usual paw structure for birds: three toes in front and one behind, while swifts have all four in front. Because of this, swifts cannot sit on branches and wires, but they can move along vertical surfaces (rocks, walls, etc.) by clinging to the smallest protrusions.
• Swallows' tails are longer and forked almost to the base, while swifts' tails are shorter and slightly elongated at the edges.
• Swifts return from warm regions only at the beginning of summer, later than all birds (since they hunt insects in the upper layers of the air, which are the last to warm up, and insects rise so high only when it gets warm enough).

Other interesting information about swifts and swallows

Additionally, for general development, you can tell your child about these birds:

• Despite their external similarity, they belong to different families: swallows belong to the passerine family, and swifts belong to the swift family.
• These birds help destroy harmful insects.
• The swift got its name because of its short and sharp beak. When a bird, hunting for midges high in the sky, opens its beak, it seems that it is “shearing” the sky with it.
• In swallows, the female lays an average of 5 eggs 2 times per summer and incubates them herself or in turn with the male for 13 - 15 days. After the chicks have flown from the nest, the parents continue to feed them and show them the way to the nest for about a week.
• In swifts, the female lays 2 - 3 eggs once per summer, and both parents incubate them for 11 - 16 days in turn. The chicks grow slowly and do not fly out of the nest for quite a long time, but after they fly out, they feed on their own.
• Because Swifts return from warm regions late, when the best hollows, cracks in buildings and other places for nests are occupied, then sometimes some swifts drive out their owners (swallows, sparrows and even starlings) and occupy other people's nests, despite the fact that they contained eggs or chicks.
• There is a well-known sign that if swallows fly low, it means rain.

I also suggest looking at an article with photographs about my observations of a family of swallows: how parents feed chicks that have grown up and flown out of the nest, or other articles from the “School assignments” section.

City swallow

Delichon urbicum (Linnaeus, 1758)

• Delichon urbica

• European funnelfish (D. u. urbicum)
• Siberian funnelfish (D. u. lagopodum)

Nesting range

Migrations

This term has other meanings, see Funnel (meanings). This article is about a bird of the swallow family. For the genus of the swallow family, see City Swallows

The city swallow, or funnel (lat. Délichon úrbicum) is a small bird of the swallow family, widespread in Europe, North Africa and temperate latitudes of Asia. Like the rock pigeon, originally a rock dweller, it easily adapted to life in urban environments. A migratory species, winters in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia. It lives in flocks along river banks, on mountain slopes, meadows, cities with stone buildings - often flocks of these birds can be seen sitting on wires. It feeds on flying insects, which it catches in the air. It has an external resemblance to two other species of the genus of city swallows - the eastern and Nepalese funnels, living in South and Southeast Asia. Normal look.

Taxonomy

The barn swallow, called Hirundo urbica, was first scientifically described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his System of Nature. Later, in 1854, the American Thomas Horsfield and the British Frederick Moore placed this species in a separate genus Delichon. The generic name Delichon is an anagram of the ancient Greek word χελιδών (pronounced "helidon"), meaning "swallow". The specific name urbicum (urbica until 2004, modified according to the rules of Latin grammar), is translated from Latin as “urban”. That is, the scientific name can be translated as “city swallow” - the same name is used in Russian.

The genus Delichon, which currently includes three species of swallows with blue tops, white underparts and white rumps, was once isolated from the barn swallow genus. Until recently, the Oriental Swallow (Delichon dasypus), native to the mountainous regions of Central and East Asia, was considered conspecific to the city swallow and was considered a subspecies of Delichon urbicum dasypus. Another species of the genus of city swallows, the Nepalese funnel (Delichon nipalense), lives in the mountainous regions of South Asia. Although all three species are very similar to each other, only the city swallow has a pure white belly and rump.

There are two subspecies of the city swallow. The nominate subspecies is the European funnel D. u. urbicum Linnaeus, 1758, inhabits all of Europe, North Africa and Asia west of the Yenisei. Subspecies Siberian funnel D. u. lagopodum, described in 1811 by the famous German and Russian scientist Peter Simon Pallas, lives in Siberia east of the Yenisei, northern Mongolia and northern China. The previously described subspecies D. u. meridionalis from Mediterranean countries to Lately is usually recognized as a so-called “wedge”, that is, a population with a gradual change in the gradient of a trait under the influence of physical and geographical factors.

Description

In the air

The body type is typical for all members of the family - an elongated body, long narrow wings, a tail with a notch, a slightly flattened head and a short beak. The size is slightly smaller than a sparrow: body length 12-17 cm, wingspan 20-33 cm, weight 18-19 g. The top is bluish-black with a blue tint, the belly, underwing and rump are pure white. The tail is without a fork, but with a slight notch. The legs are completely covered with white feathers and down. Males and females do not differ from each other in appearance. Juveniles are similar to adults, but are duller grayish-black above and brownish-white below. Young and adults shed once a year and are quite long - from August to March. At the same time, small plumage changes in the fall, and large plumage in the spring.

Within the breeding range, the city swallow can be confused with other Palearctic members of the family - barn, shore and rufous-rumped swallows. The barn swallow is distinguished from all these species by its solid white underparts, clearly visible during flight, and its white rump when viewed from above. In Africa, the barn swallow bears some resemblance to the grey-tailed swallow, which, however, has a more off-white coloring on the belly, a gray rump and a deep notch on the tail.

The flight is fast and agile, but still not as swift as that of the barn swallow. In the air, the bird makes an average of 5.3 wing beats per second.. It is a sociable bird, but has a rather weak and inexpressive voice. A frequent call is a short babbling sound “trick” or “chirr”. The longer chirps are a combination of the same sounds.

Spreading

Area

Distributed throughout Europe with the exception of the extreme northern regions of Scandinavia, the Kola Peninsula and north of the 66th parallel between the White Sea and the Urals. In Siberia, to the north it rises in the Ob valley to 65° N. sh., in the Yenisei valley up to 70° N. latitude, in the Anabar valley up to 72° N. sh., in the Lena Valley up to 71° N. sh., in the Alazeya valley up to 70° N. sh., in the Kolyma valley up to 69° N. sh., on the Pacific coast to the middle reaches of Anadyr and the northern shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The southern border runs through Syria, Iraq, southern Iran, southern Afghanistan and the slopes of the Himalayas. In Africa, it breeds in the northwest of the continent from western Cyrenaica east to Morocco and south to the Atlas Mountains.

Craters in a populated area

Habitat

In the wild, the barn swallow usually nests in light-colored rocky caves or crevices sedimentary rocks, usually along the banks of mountain rivers. Occasionally occupies nests of shorebirds along clay cliffs. With the emergence of cities, swallows began to build their nests under the roofs and eaves of houses, preferring buildings with stone or brickwork - for this reason it is much more common in cities than in villages. Gradually, these birds became a typically synanthropic species, becoming less and less common outside settlements. In the mountains it rises to 2200 m above sea level.

Forage biotopes are open spaces with herbaceous vegetation: meadows, pastures, agricultural lands, usually near water. Compared to other swallows, it often stays near the trees on which it rests. In winter migration areas it is found in similar open landscapes, but compared to the wintering barn swallow, it is less noticeable, leads a nomadic lifestyle and flies at high altitudes. In the tropics, such as in eastern Africa and Thailand, it lives mainly at higher elevations.

A group of city swallows on a power line

Nature of stay

Throughout the range migrant. Western populations winter in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, eastern populations in southern China, the foothills of the Himalayas and in Southeast Asia. Flies in a wide front, usually during daylight hours (some individuals move at night).. They usually arrive at nesting sites later than other swallows, when the first greenery appears on the trees. In the Transcaucasus they appear in the first ten days of April, in the south of Ukraine in mid-April, in the north of Ukraine and the Baltic states at the end of April, in the St. Petersburg region in the first half of May, in Arkhangelsk in the second half of this month. Autumn departure in August - September, in reverse order - the further north the population is, the earlier the birds begin migrating south. There are known cases of occasional flights as far west as Newfoundland, Bermuda and the Azores, and as far east as Alaska.

During migration or upon arrival at nesting sites, cases of mass mortality associated with sudden cold snaps are known. For example, in 1974, hundreds of thousands of dead birds were discovered in the Swiss Alps, caught in freezing conditions and heavy snowfall. When cold weather sets in, the birds huddle together in some secluded place and fall into a stupor, becoming very lethargic.

Lifestyle

Reproduction

City swallow nests

Pairs are formed on migration or within the breeding colony, and remain throughout life. Funnelfish are socially monogamous, but cases of copulation with members of another pair are quite often known, as a result of which this species is recognized as genetically polygamous. Studies conducted by Scottish ornithologists showed that in 15% of cases the chicks were not genetically related to the intended father, and in 32% of cases the nest contained at least one egg laid by another female. The males, having finished arranging their own nest and allowing the female to lay eggs, often found themselves near other nests.

The time of spring arrival is greatly extended. In Europe, swallows appear in April - May; nest construction begins from late March in northern Africa to mid-June in Lapland. Under natural conditions, it nests in shallow rocky caves and crevices of conglomerate and shell rock, often along the banks of mountain rivers. Sometimes individual pairs join colonies of shorebirds, occupying their burrows on clay cliffs, having previously widened the entrance and partially covered it with lumps of earth. With the development of stone construction, most birds moved to cities, where they build their nests on the walls of houses and under bridges. Unlike the barn swallow, the city swallow, as a rule, uses the outer walls of buildings, rather than the interior of barns, barns and stables. In this case, preference is given to buildings with stone or brickwork, and only in the absence of these, to wooden buildings.

Chicks ready to fly out of the nestDelichon urbicum

Nests are usually built under some kind of canopy - a roof, window cornice, relief decoration. There are known cases of arranging a nest on an operating ferry, while the birds do not pay attention to the movement of the ship and the intrusive attention of visitors. One nest is used by a couple for several years in a row, and if necessary, it is repaired and completed annually. As a rule, the little funnel settles in colonies of several to several dozen, occasionally several hundred pairs, sometimes together with the barn swallow and the rufous-rumped swallow. The nests are often located close to each other, so that there may be several nests under the window. Neighboring pairs get along easily, guarding only the nest itself.

The nest is a closed hemisphere of lumps of earth, glued to the wall and ceiling with sticky saliva. Socket diameter 110-130 mm, height 70-120 mm. A small entrance in the form of a slit is made in the upper part of the sphere, and sometimes a small tube is extended to it. The inside of the nest is lined with grass, wool and other soft material, which the bird picks up on the fly. The male and female take turns equipping the nest, bringing damp lumps of dirt in their beaks and forming them into a spherical wall. Sometimes females who arrive at the site begin construction on their own, without waiting for males. Near the unfinished nest, someone is constantly on duty, while another bird preys construction material. In the absence of owners, the nest is willingly occupied by sparrows, and then the swallows have to rebuild it in a new place. The finished nest has an entrance size sufficient for a sparrow to crawl into. During the work, long breaks are taken, which in case of inclement weather can take several days - they are necessary so that the earth dries out and does not collapse under its own weight. All construction takes up to 12-14 days.

There are usually two clutches per season, although northern parts Due to the short summer, birds can breed only once. If the initial clutch dies, the female lays again. Typically, the clutch consists of 4-6 white eggs without a pattern, measuring 19-20 × 13-14 mm and weighing about 1.7 g. The female incubates predominantly for 14-15 days, and in rainy summers up to 20 days. When there is an abundance of insects, the male brings her food to the nest, but in inclement weather he does not have time to get enough himself, and the female is forced to go in search of food on her own. The chicks, ready to emerge from the egg, are weak and helpless, and are unable to break the shell - their parents help them do this. The chicks begin to fly at the age of 22-32 days, but for another week they are dependent on their parents. Sometimes chicks from the first brood help their parents feed the second offspring.

Periodically, there is evidence that the city swallow interbreeds with the barn swallow - more often than any other species from the order Passeriformes. The frequency of such reports gives experts reason to assume that the city and barn swallows have a closer genetic relationship than is currently declared, and the genera Delichon and Hirundo should be combined.

Nutrition

Like other species of swallows, it feeds on flying insects, which it hunts only in the air. During the breeding season, it usually feeds at a height of about 10-20 m above the ground, descending after prey lower before inclement or cool weather. This is not necessarily related to the upcoming rain - a warm summer evening, when a large number of insects, swallows also fly low. They do not hunt in the rain, but wait out bad weather in nests or enclosed spaces. The feeding territory is usually located within a radius of no more than 450 m from the nest, usually at open place- lawn, river valley, mountainside, field. During winter migration, swallows feed much higher - at a height of about 50 m above the ground and are not tied to any specific area.

Hobby - the natural enemy of the city swallow

The greatest danger to city swallows is the Hobby Falcon, which is as fast as they are and lies in wait for prey in the air. Thanks to their flight qualities, funnels avoid encounters with most other predators. They are most vulnerable on the shore of a reservoir, when they collect lumps of mud to build a nest, so they always do this in a group.

Conservation status

The funnel lives in most of the northern Palearctic - its distribution area is about 10 million km². According to experts, 20-48 million individuals nest in Europe. The size of the global population is uncertain, but it is known to fluctuate. Based on the above reasons, the conservation status in the International Red List is designated as LC (low risk taxon). The species is also not included in the list of the Convention on international trade CITES. However, in Western Europe, and in particular in the UK, a gradual decline in the population was noted, and therefore in this state the conservation status of this species was raised to yellow (increased attention).

Like some other animal species, barn swallows have benefited from human activity- deforestation contributed to the expansion of the food range, and the construction of cities provided fairly safe places for reproduction. Many factors influence population fluctuations - for example, the construction of new buildings and stricter air pollution legislation certainly lead to an increase in the population. On the other hand, cool weather, use in agriculture pesticides, a lack of wet soil (necessary for building nests) and competition with the house sparrow is reflected in a reduction in the number of swallows within a populated area.

• Bird of the Year in Switzerland in 2010.

Swallow in culture

Coat of arms of King Richard II of England depicting five swallows

In European literature, swallows are mentioned quite often, although without specifying the specific species. There are several known set expressions, originally symbolizing the arrival of spring - “the first swallow”, “one swallow does not make spring.” The last expression, which became a proverb, appeared in Ancient Greece- Aesop’s fable “The Mot and the Swallow” tells about a young man who sold his last cloak at the sight of the first spring swallow. However, the cold returned, and the young man and the swallow froze (in Russian literature, this fable was masterfully retold by the poet I. A. Krylov). This expression is also found in the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in his work “Nicomachean Ethics”: “After all, one swallow does not make spring, nor does one day; in the same way, neither in one day, nor in a short time, one becomes blissful and happy.”

According to experts, William Shakespeare in the tragedy “Macbeth” mentions the city swallow when the leader of Banquo’s army describes the advantages of the castle, addressing King Duncan (Act I, Scene VI):

Summer guest
The templar swift, having settled here,
Shows us that this is heaven
It breathes with joy. There is no tooth, no resistance,
Corner or ledge, wherever he twisted
Hanging beds and generous cradles.
Where he lives, there is air, I noticed
Particularly clean.
(Translation by M. Lozinsky)

Original text (English) City Swallow. Postage stamp of Belarus, 2004

In M. Yu. Lermontov’s poem “Boyarin Orsha,” a swallow (judging by the text, a city swallow) personifies the passion of life:

And he saw: at the window
Full of care and playfulness
The swallow flew down,
Then up under the stone cornice
Threw with amazing speed
And she was hiding in the cracks, damp;
Then, soaring into the sky like an arrow,
Drowning in fiery rays...
And he sighed for the old days,
When he lived, a stranger to passions,
One life with nature.

In the spring of 1942, many residents of besieged Leningrad wore a badge on their chest in the shape of a swallow with a letter in its beak. This bird easily flew into the besieged city, and thereby served the residents as a symbol of good news and letters. This image was preserved in the poem “The Blockade Swallow,” written by the Leningrad poetess Olga Berggolts:

A small swallow made of tin
I carried it on my chest myself.
It was a sign of good news
it meant: “Waiting for a letter.”

This sign was invented by the blockade.
We knew that only the plane
only a bird to us, to Leningrad,
it will come from our dear, dear homeland.

Notes

1. Koblik E. A., Redkin Ya. A., Arkhipov V. Yu. List of birds Russian Federation. - M.: Partnership scientific publications KMK, 2006. - 256 p. ISBN 5-87317-263-3
2. Carolus Linnaeus. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. - Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. - Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii), 1758. - P. 192.
3. ITIS Standard Report Page: Delichon. The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved October 16, 2008. Archived August 20, 2011.
4. 1 2 House Martin Delichon urbicum (Linnaeus, 1758). Bird facts. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved October 16, 2008. Archived August 20, 2011.
5. George Sangster, J. Martin Collinson, Andreas J. Helbig, Alan G. Knox, David T. Parkin. Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: second report // Ibis. - 2004. - Vol. 146. - P. 155.
6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Angela Turner, Chris Rose. Swallows & Martins: An Identification Guide and Handbook. - Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. - P. 226-233. - 258 p. - ISBN 0-395-51174-7.
7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 G. Dementyev, N. Gladkov. Birds of the Soviet Union. - Soviet Science, 1953. - T. 6. - P. 714-729. - 808 p.
8. S. A. Buturlin and others. Birds. Animal world THE USSR. - M.-L.: Detizdat, 1940.
9. Felix Liechti, Lukas Bruderer. Wingbeat frequency of barn swallows and house martins: a comparison between free flight and wind tunnel experiments // The Journal of Experimental Biology. - 2002. - Vol. 205. - P. 2461-2467.
10. 1 2 3 D. N. Kaigorodov. Our birds. - M.: AST, 2001. - 332 p. - ISBN 5-17-004266-3.
11. 1 2 3 4 5 E. A. Nazarenko, S. A. Bessonov. Delichon urbica (Linnaeus, 1758) - Funnel. Vertebrates of Russia: review. Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences named after. A. N. Severtsova. Retrieved October 16, 2008. Archived August 20, 2011.
12. L. S. Stepanyan. Abstract of the ornithological fauna of Russia and adjacent territories. - M.: Akademkniga, 2003. - 808 p. - ISBN 5-94628-093-7.
13. 1 2 3 David Snow, Christopher M Perrins. The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. - Vol. 2. - P. 1066-1069. - 1830 p. - ISBN 019854099X.
14. Boonsong Lekagul, Philip Round. A Guide to the Birds of Thailand. - Bangkok: Saha Karn Baet, 1991. - P. 236. - 457 p. - ISBN 9748567362.
15. Craig Robson. A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand. - Sydney: New Holland Press, 2004. - P. 206. - 272 p. - ISBN 9748567362.
16. Jan Kube, Nils Kjellén, Jochen Bellebaum, Ronald Klein, Helmut Wendeln. How many diurnal migrants cross the Baltic Sea at night? (English) (inaccessible link - history). Instituts für Vogelforschung Poster. Retrieved October 17, 2008. Archived February 25, 2009.
17. David Sibley. The North American Bird Guide. - Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd, 2007. - P. 322. - 544 p. - ISBN 0713689951.
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